The probe found that at least $8.5 million in inappropriate payments were made to a management company controlled and majority-owned by Mr. Shorsch. The audit did uncover the REIT's weak financial reporting controls but "did not identify any material changes relating to our real estate ownership, the validity of our leases or our fundamental business operations."

The 1,595-foot span was supposed to be completely reopened last April but was delayed to this year. Now construction won't be finished until some time next year. In addition to the new damage just uncovered, the city's reluctance to close the bridge for entire weekends has slowed down repair work, said Skanska Koch, the lead contractor on the project. Construction on the bridge began five years ago.

Ms. Olatoye noted that the spending predated her tenure and now all supply purchases made by the agency are tracked in a centralized system. Earlier this week, the Daily News reported that NYCHA bought $18.1 million worth of supplies that it never used and recently sold for a fraction of its cost.

As part of the deal, an affiliate of CIM Group, the owner of the property, agreed to pay $4.4 million, the amount it had received in tax breaks, to a special city fund for building affordable housing. The owner also will convert the 110-unit tower into rent-regulated apartments.

Earlier this month, Crain'schecked into the Branson at Fifth on West 55th Street to find out more about the property that has received the most illegal-hotel violations than any other in the city.

]]>

The Port Authority is considering lifting a 30-year-old rule that restricts flights longer than 1,500 miles from New York's LaGuardia airport, which would allow routes to the West Coast.

The agency said in a statement that it's reviewing the so-called perimeter rule "to determine whether it remains in the best interest of the region's air travelers." Any change would occur "only after a thorough study and analysis and consultation with all interested parties in a public and transparent manner," according to the statement.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey controls the New York City area's three major airports. The two others, John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International, have transcontinental flights.

News that the Port Authority was considering lifting the rule was reported Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal.

From the 1950s to 1984, the Port Authority had an informal rule in effect at LaGuardia, the smallest of the three airports, that prohibited nonstop flights into or out of LaGuardia from points more than 2,000 miles away, according to a brief filed by the U.S. solicitor general in a case that Delta Air Lines Inc. brought against the Port Authority, which went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

]]>Real estate services giant Cushman & Wakefield Inc. is for sale. The Italian family that controls the New York City-based firm has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help it look for a buyer, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Exor SpA, the investment arm of the Agnelli family, prefers a private buyer over a direct rival. The company could fetch as much as $2 billion. The Agnelli family paid $565.4 million for a 67.5% stake in Cushman eight years ago and now owns a 81% share in the firm.

U.S. prosecutors investigating a former top ally of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie subpoenaed records relating to an airplane hangar at Newark Liberty International Airport, a person familiar with the matter said.

The subpoena relates to a widebody aircraft hangar and David Samson, the former chairman of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, said the person, who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and asked not to be identified. The subpoena also involves United Airlines, the largest carrier at the airport, the person said.

The subpoena was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. A spokesman for New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman declined to comment on it.

U.S. investigators subpoenaed the personal travel logs of Mr. Samson as well as information about his relationship with United Airlines, the Record newspaper reported this month.

Prosecutors are seeking information about a nonstop flight United started between Newark-Liberty, operated by the Port Authority, and Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, about 50 miles from where Mr. Samson's wife has a home, the Record said.

The bank has hired Jones Lang LaSalle to sell the site, bound by 44th Road, 23rd Street and 44th Drive in the Court Square section of the booming neighborhood. Under current zoning, a new owner can build a 40-story mixed-use tower with residential. A developer will most likely construct a housing complex as part of the de Blasio administration's effort to boost affordable housing across the city.

The sale marks Citi's shrinking real estate footprint in the city.

]]>Office rents are soaring in Manhattan so companies are finding ways to cut costs. One easy way is to reduce the amount of space for each employee. The shrinking is happening beyond New York, according to The New York Times.

The average amount of space per office worker in North America dropped to 176 square feet in 2012, from 225 in 2010, CoreNet Global said. More recent data is not available, but experts say that figure is expected to be even smaller.

In New York, Cushman & Wakefield said 50,000 more people work in office-using industries and with a 9.5% vacancy rate in Manhattan at the end of last year companies have to take less space.

]]>The new owner of the Waldorf Astoria plans to convert part of the hotel into luxury condos. Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group, which closed on its acquisition of the Waldorf Astoria last week for nearly $2 billion, disclosed at a recent event that it plans to renovate the high-end property and convert a portion of it into units for sale, according to The Real Deal.

"A potential buyer needs to have more than money to qualify for our apartments," said Anbang. The company bought the Waldorf Astoria from Hilton Worldwide Holdings.

Separately, this week Crain'sfirst reported that Anbang is close to purchasing a trophy office tower at 717 Fifth Ave. for an undisclosed sum.